Abstract
A teacherpreneur is a proactive change agent who exhibits an entrepreneurial mindset by adapting new approaches to teaching and learning, particularly by integrating purposeful digital technologies to support the development of a digital ecosystem to facilitate knowledge among students and teachers. The overarching goal of the research presented in the thesis was to develop an integrated framework of teacherpreneurship, showcasing specific skill sets and approaches that university teachers can adapt to bring innovation to the 21st century classroom.
In the digital context of higher education, the contemporary teaching and learning environment is becoming complex due to various factors. I reviewed the existing pedagogical approaches and relevant skills to address the complexity of teaching 21st century students. Research suggests that current approaches lack the innovation required to meet the challenges of the complex nature of higher education. To redefine the role of 21st century teachers, the notion of teacherpreneurship is therefore presented. The study focused on identifying the salient features of the notions of teacherpreneurship, and empirically validating the features with university teachers.
The research employed a mixed-method approach utilising an online questionnaire and individual interviews to collect data from a sample of university teachers (n=99) from two research-intensive universities in New Zealand and Bangladesh (one university in each country) to understand current teaching practices. The framework of teacherpreneurship is evaluated in two ways: conceptually and empirically. To reconceptualise the concept of teacherpreneurship, a conceptual framework was developed, consisting of four teaching scenarios informed by the existing literature. Each scenario presents the profile of a teacher with specific competencies. In this way, the conceptual framework can assist in differentiating the characteristics of each teaching scenario from the teacherpreneurs. To collect empirical data, the TPACK (technological pedagogical and content knowledge) questionnaire was adapted to gather participants’ perceptions of the current teaching practices and skills required to teach, and that shape the concept of teacherpreneurship.
A thematic analysis was conducted to code the collected data and develop themes to answer the guiding research questions. Then an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to find latent variables in the data and relate teaching scenarios, which led to the design of the teacherpreneurship framework. Finally, expert opinions were sought through individual interviews, to evaluate the framework empirically.
An overview of changing teaching approaches (before and during the pandemic), including incorporating digital technologies, is presented. Findings revealed positive factors such as acceptance of the notion of “any time anywhere” learning, and university offerings of professional support in information technology (IT) training, workshops, and online guides to influence teaching innovation. Nevertheless, various challenges such as institutional restrictions, academic culture, and limited learning opportunities undermined the effectiveness of innovative teaching practices.
University teachers are expected to teach in such a way that they can master the skills needed for specific career paths in the 21st century. Hence, this thesis offers a critical contribution to theory and practice: the proposal of teacherpreneurship as an integrated framework to support university teachers in addressing challenges of teaching in the 21st century, with conceptual and empirical validation to evaluate its practicality in the higher education context.